Online counselling and wellbeing support
We offer in-person and online Student Counselling and Wellbeing appointments. When you register for support from our Service, we will ask you for your appointment preference and we will try our best to accommodate this.
Online support is not appropriate if you are experiencing thoughts of self-harm or suicide. In these cases, you must contact your local GP and/or crisis team as a matter of urgency.
How online appointments work
Our online appointments are hosted on MS Teams. None of your personal data will be shared with MS Teams.
Before your appointment, we will send you an email with a unique URL for the meeting, which will provide a secure, private chatroom for the appointment. You may wish to download the MS Teams app before you begin attending apointments, however the Teams link you will receive for appointments should open up in your web browser.
You will need a working webcam, sound, and a microphone on your device. If you are using a tablet or mobile device, make sure it is fully charged or plugged in before your appointment begins. We recommend using a headset if possible.
If we are experiencing technical issues, we will contact you by email to offer an alternative appointment. If we are unable to email you, we will call you on the contact number provided on our University system. Calls from the Student Counselling and Wellbeing team will display as a private number.
If you need to contact your practitioner outside of the appointment, e.g. to tell them you are going to be late to the appointment, you must use your University of Leeds email rather than the MS Teams messaging function for security and confidentiality reasons.
On-campus quiet room
If you cannot access a private space for your online appointment, we may be able to offer you the use of our on-campus quiet room.
Please email the Student Counselling and Wellbeing team at scw@leeds.ac.uk for more information about the quiet room.
Data protection
As with our face-to-face services, online appointments are not recorded or stored for security and confidentiality reasons.
Please email the Student Counselling and Wellbeing team at scw@leeds.ac.uk immediately if you believe the security or confidentiality of your connection has been compromised in any way.
Confidentiality
Please make sure that you are in a private location where you cannot be overheard for the duration of the appointment. If we believe you are in a public place, or if anyone else other than you is in the meeting, the appointment cannot go ahead.
Consider whether you can be overlooked/overheard. If you leave your station, no matter how briefly, minimise the page so it cannot be seen by others.
Consider whether anyone else has access to your computer or email account. We suggest you protect your computer and email account with a password which you change regularly.
If you are using a shared device, delete the browsing history, temporary internet files and cookies after your appointment so this information cannot be accessed by the next user.
Legal restrictions in other countries
Counselling, Wellbeing and Mental Health support is a recognised and well-established practice in the UK and many other countries, however we can't be aware of its status in all territories.
We would like to make our online services available to all students, however in some countries or local areas within a country, receiving online wellbeing, counselling or mental health services is either not permitted or needs locality-specific further permissions or licences that UK-based practitioners do not have.
We are aware that we cannot provide online counselling services to students who are temporarily resident in the State of California.
If you are aware of any legal restrictions relating to us providing online wellbeing, counselling or mental health services in your current location, please tell us.